Saint Arnold's newest beer has a delightfully funky edge

By Ronnie Crocker |
February 19, 2013

Beers are aged in the Saint Arnold's brewery barrel room for the Bishop's Barrel series and other special releases.

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Bishop's Barrel No. 2

What: An old ale aged with cherries in chardonnay barrels, the latest in Saint Arnold Brewing Co.'s Bishop's Barrel series.

Packaged: 12-ounce bottles only. No kegs.

Where: Sold in bars and restaurants only.

Price: Up to the retailer. Keep in mind, this is an expensive beer to produce.

"This is basically our playroom," Brock Wagner says, opening a padlock and stepping into a chilled storage area where the aroma of whiskey and hewn oak prompts a guest to draw an extra-deep breath and let out a mile-wide smile.

The brick-floored room has upward of 200 wood barrels, many stacked four high, that once held spirits or wine but now are filled with beer. Red plastic tags and handwritten notes on each barrel keep track of what style is aging inside and how long it's been there.

The eye is immediately drawn to the Old Forester bourbon barrels marked DR4, shorthand for beers made from Saint Arnold Brewing Co.'s Divine Reserve No. 4 recipe. The beer, a strong Scotch ale, was placed in the barrels in January for consumption much later.

Another attention-grabber is the blue chalk marking several barrels "BBXA" for bourbon barrel Christmas Ale and "Bretts" for the Brettanomyces yeast that will add a wild, funky and satisfying flavor.

But that, too, is something for the future.

Of more immediate interest is Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel No. 2, the second in the Houston brewery's series of barrel-aged beers being rolled out in limited editions. Wagner, the Saint Arnold owner, is justifiably proud of the series thus far.

No. 2, which went on sale Monday, is a crisp, slightly tart old ale-style beer that was aged with cherries for 14 months inside chardonnay barrels from the Napa Valley winery Saintsbury, which is owned by one of Wagner's cousins.

"This one's got some funk," Wagner said during a recent tasting. "It's got the cherry. It's got the chardonnay. It's got the old ale in there, aka Christmas Ale."

It also illustrates the risks in putting beer into used barrels. Wagner said that the original batch yielded enough to fill 56 barrels. As time went on, the beer in two of the barrels became undrinkable and had to be dumped.

In two others, the beer developed a tangy flavor from stray Brettanomyces and in two a sour lactic flavor that, alone, might not be particularly enjoyable. But by blending the beers together, Wagner said, the brewers found they preferred the combination of flavors.

Thus, the decision was made to blend all of the barrels before bottling.

Bishop's Barrel No. 2 is available in 12-ounce bottles that are sold only at bars or restaurants. The price is set by retailers, but don't expect it to be cheap, given the cost of the barrels and the time it takes to mature.

Wagner, whose brewery has grown rapidly for several years, made these beers on a commercial scale only after moving Saint Arnold's production to a new, larger brewery in 2010. After adding enough equipment to keep pace with demand, he dedicated an area for barrel storage.

The first in the Bishop's Barrel series was a high-alcohol imperial stout, perhaps the beer style best suited to barrel-aging. With No. 2, the Saint Arnold brewers have completed another successful experiment in their "playroom."

Given the high costs and relatively low profit margins on these beers, the barrel program may not be the greatest business investment. But as Wagner said, it sure is fun.